Car construction.



PATENTED MAY 5, 1908 J. R. GARDWELL.

. OAR CONSTRUCTION. APPLIOATION FILED JUIlYs. 190.6.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

fitter/we JAMES R. GARDWELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

can CONSTRUCTION.

Specification pf Letters Patent.

Patented. May 5, A908.

Application filed July 5, 1906. Serial No. 324,827.

- preferred embodimentthereof is an improvement upon the construction forming the sub-' ject matter of my application Serial No. 307,876, filed March 24, 1906.

' In the device of my said co-pending application, there is disclosed the combination of a car body with rockers carried thereby and ada' ted to engage with some portions of-the true s supporting thecar body. In the construction of said ap hcation, the rockers are swingingly mounte 'upon the car body bolsters near their outer ends, the said rockers serving to engage the top faces of the truck bolsters with .whichthe hody'bolsters have pivotal connection.v The shafts of the rock.

ers are not only so mounted beneath the body bolsters as to permit the rocking action of the rockers, but said shafts are so mounted that they may travel bodily. to a limited extent,

whereby the rockers may by a simple con-f struction be permitted to assume normal central positions with respect to their mountings, when relieved of engagement with the truck bolsters. In order that this normal central position on the part of each rocker may be assured, means are provided supplernenting the natural action of the rocker for forcing this return to normal, this means residing in alug or tooth providedupon a peripher'al portion of the rockershaft and projecting into a slot located above the rocker shaft, the parallel endsof the slot affording.

'fulcra, about either of which the rocker is movedby the force of its own weight when relieved of engagement with the correspondmg truck bolster. n the device of the aforesaid apphcation, the vertical height of the openings through which the shaft projects is slightly larger than the diameter of theshaft, and the pei'i holy of the shaft is concentric throughout with the axis of rotation of the shaft, though itshould be understood that -while a specific in which.

. show one em construction of the said application is herein outlined, the invention disclosed in said a plication is generic and is not limited-to t e particular embodiment specifically set forth;

By means of my present invention, I am y enabled to secure agreater range of travel of the car body upon the upper portions of the roc'kers in roportion to the vertical dimensions of tfie openings through which the shafts project than the corresponding'travel afforded'bythe specific construction outlined in my saidco-pending a plication. I accomplish this result by inc xassing the radius of .this'por'tion of the rocker haft that en-v gages the car body and cutting away the, 7g lowerportions of the shafts, in order that this increasefdaradius of the shaft may not necessitate an increase in the vertical dimension of the openings through which theshaft passes.

By means of my present invention, I also 5 provide an improved agency for promoting the return of the rockers to their normal vertical positions, whensaid rockers are free of riding engagement with the car trucks, which feature of my invention resides in cam mechg9 anism, one element of which is a partof the shaft construction and another element of which is a part of the bearing for the shaft, these two cam elements beingbrought into cooperativevrelation when therocker is ro- 5 tated. to either of its alternate positions,. whereupon said cam elements may cooperate to return the rocker. to normal when said rocker is free of riding engagement with the truck.

I will explain my invention more fully by reference to the accompanying drawings, showing the preferred embodiment thereof,

Figure -1 is a cross-sectional view of so 5 much-eta car body, its bolster, the truck bolster, and arts associated therewith, as to hodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 is aplanview of aside bearing taken just fabove the plane of-attachment of theside .100

bearing with the body bolster. Ifig 3' is 1 bottom view of the structure shown in Fig. 2 FigA-is a view from beneath 'showingihat plate whichis attached to the car body or body bolster for support above a rocker shaft and.

another late to cooperate with it in supportingsa ids aft, ..Fig. 5is aview in the direction of arrow 5 ofFig. 4.; 'Fig. dis a view in the direction of arrow 6 of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a topv view of the additional plate which isshown lie thereof. Fig. 9 shows a side elevation of the structure with all of the parts assembled as it will appear in its normal vertical position that it occupies when the rocker is free of riding engagement. Fig. 10 is a view taken ii. a direction at right-angles? to that in which Fig. 9 is taken. Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 9, with the exception that the rocker is shown moved to oneof its alternative positions. Fig. 12 is a-perspective view of the rocker; Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 9 showing the construction, *however, slightly modified.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the different figures.

Inasmuch as the side'bearings'are generally immediately associated with the body bolsters and truck bolsters, the following description will be had with reference to such an arrangement, though I do. not wish to be limited thereto.

,In" Fig. 1 I have. indicated a portion of a "car body a ofany suitable construction, one

jofitibody bolsters I) being attached thereto beneath the same, and having pivotal mounting at c with the truck bolster d, in accordance with any suitable-practice. 7

Near the sides of the car and underneath the bolsters b there are provided in the ends of said bolsters my im roved side bearings e, that include rockers adapted to ride'upon plates 9 carried by the truck bolster cl when the car body is tilted with respect to the truck bolster, onezrbckerf or the other being engaged withth e truck bolster, according to the direction in which the car body slants. The rockers f are desirably'normally sepa rated fromengagement with the truck bolster. The rockers f are provided with shafts that are mounted between plates 'i, is, the pla es 4. being secured directly to the bottom of the bolster I), while the plates 7t are secured to the plates t. The plates 'i, it are separately made, in order that the rockers f may be dis posed between the same in assembly, the shafts h being desirablyii'itegrally formed with said rockers. In the assembly of the parts, theends of the shafts areprojected through openings Z, min the plates, margins of said openings affording means whereby the rockers are given swinging mounting.

The segmental orEriding surfaces 92 of the rockers are given a length that will suit the maximum swing of t e truck bolsters that is likely to occur. Theflat sidesoof the rockers are adapted to limit the extent to which said rockers may be swung, these fiat sides serving to engagethe plates i when the rockers .are moved excessively, as is shown in Fig. 1 1. The axis of rotation of each shaft h desirably shifts as the rocker is rolled, whereby I am enabled to provide improved means for enabling the rocker to return to normal or central position when said rocker is free from the truck bolster, and whereby the range of travel of therocker is increased. The shiftlower horizontal .margins of the openings through which said shaft projects, but as I trim off or shortenthe height of the shaft by the constructions illustrated in Figs. 9 to 13, inclusive, the vertical dimension of the open ings through which the shaft rojects may remain unaltered, while the ridin surface of the upper portion of the shaft anr the corresponding portion of the rocker may be considerably increased, with an advantage that is apparent.

' In short, I have provided a construction comprising a car body having side bearings in the form of rockers depending therefrom and carried thereby, said rockers having shafts and bearings for the shafts carried by the car body, said bearings being provided with horizontally elongated openings into which said shafts project, the up er portions of said shafts being adapted'to ave riding engagement with the upper horizontal margins of said openings, the ortions of the shafts that engage said up er iorizontal margins of said openings an the upper ridin ortions of the rockers being further remove from the axes of rotation of the shafts than the lower ortions of the shafts, whereby the shafts and the said riding portions of the rockers may have a greater rangeof riding engagement for a given vertical dimension of said openings.

In the construction shown in Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, one sort of a cam formation is illus trated, in the formation of which the shaft is continued slightly below its axis.

In the construction shown in Fig. 13 the cam construction is such. that the shaft need not be continued below its axis. I

In either case there are two cam formations p, p which are normally out of action rocker is moved in one direction, and the other cam element 29 is brought into cooperative relation with the corresponding camelement g when the rocker is moved in an alternate direction, portions 79 q when in engagemert having a shifting fulcrum action,

the movable cam portion riding upon the stationary portion in the restoring movement. Whether the rocker travels much or said openings are made a trifle larger verti-' cally than the engaging portions of the shaft.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination with a car body, of side hearings in the form of rockers depending therefrom and carried thereby, said rocke ers having shafts and bearings for the shafts carried by the car body, said bearings being provided-with horizontally elongated openings into which said shafts project, the portions of the rockers upon which the car body is adapted to rest having curvature of larger radius than the distance between the axes of rotation of the rockers and the lower horizontal margins of the said openings.

2. The combination with a car-body, of side hearings in the form of rockers depending therefrom and carried thereby, said rockers having shafts and bearings for the shafts carried by thecar body, said bearings bein provided with openings into which said shafts roject, the portions of the rockers upon w rich the car body is adapted to rest having curvatureof larger radius than the distance between the axes of rotation of the rockers and the lower margins of the said' openings.

3. The combination 'with a car body, of side hearings in the form of rockers depending therefrom and carried thereby, said rockers having shafts and bearings for the shafts carried by the car body, saidbearings being rovided with horizontally elongated openings into which said shafts project, the upper portions of said shafts being adapted to have riding engagement with the upper horizontal margins of said openings, the portions of the shafts that engage said upper horizontal margins of said openings being further removed from the axes of rotation of the s l 1 afts than the lower portions of the shafts,-whereby*- the shafts may have a greater range of riding engagement for a given vertical dimension of said openings.

4. The combination with a car body, of side bearings in the form of rockers depending therefrom andcarried thereby, said rockers having shafts and bearings for the shafts carried by the. car body, said bearings bein provided with openings into which sai shafts project, the upper portions of said shafts being adapted to have riding engagement with the uppermargins of said openings, the portions of the shafts that engage.

said upper margins of said openingsv being further removed from the axes of rotation of the shaftst-han the lower portions of the shafts, whereby the shafts may have a greater range of riding engagement for a' given vertical dimension of said openings.

5. The combination with a car body, of side hearings in the form of rockers depend ing therefrom and carried thereby, each rocker being provided with a cam formation upon its end, and an element cooperating with said cam formation forreturning the rockerto its normal position when free of riding engagement. i

6. The combination with a car body, of side bearings in the form of rockers depending therefrom and carried thereby, each rocker being provided with a cam formation upon its end, a shaft for each rocker, and bearings for the rockers into which the shafts thereof project, said bearings having cam formations cooperating with the cam formations upon ends of the rockers to return the rockers to normal position when free of riding engagement.

7. The combination with a car body, of side hearings in the form of rockers depending therefrom and carried thereby, a shaft for each rocker having cam formation, and

bearings for the rocker shafts into which "the.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this second day of July A. D. 1906.

JAMES R. CARDl/J ELL.

Witnesses: WEBB, G. KRAUSER,

G. L. CRAGG. 

